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The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland was formed in 1893 and claims to be the spiritual descendant of the Reformation. They are sometimes colloquially known as the Wee Wee Frees (not to be confused with the "Wee Frees" who are another church).
In 1892 the Free Church of Scotland, following the example of the United Presbyterian Church and the Church of Scotland (1889), passed a Declaratory Act relaxing the stringency of subscription to the confession, which was widely perceived as paving the way for unification with the United Presbyterian Church. This was met by a protest from the minister from the island of Raasay, who was later joined by one other minister. The result was that a small number of ministers and congregations, mostly in the Highlands, severed their connection with the church and formed the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, on strictly and straightly orthodox lines. In 1907 this body had twenty congregations and twelve ministers.
A few years after the FP Church was formed the Free Church actually did unify with the United Presbyterians, but this time a fairly large minority stayed out, to form the "Wee Frees". Initially some wondered if the two churches would merge, but this did not happen. The two churches are sometimes confused, and the differences between them are not very great. However, the FP Church opposes using public transport to get to church on the Sabbath, which the "Wee Frees" do not, and the "Wee Frees" have been prepared to use modern translations of the Bible, but the FP Church sticks to the King James Bible.
Although, seen in an all-Scottish context, the FP Church is a tiny body, because it is largely based in the Highlands there are some areas where it is a significant presence, and there are even a few small pockets where it is the main denomination, e.g. the island of Raasay. It experienced some controversy when one of its members, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, attended a Catholic funeral, which led to a split and the formation of the Associated Presbyterian Church in 1989. One fairly well-known member is John MacLeod, a journalist who used to work for The Herald. It has a small bookshop in Woodlands Road in Glasgow, which contains a large amount of material condeming the Roman Catholic Church and condemning evolution.
The FP Church is Reformed in Doctrine, Worship and Practice, basing all on the Word of God: the Bible. The "subordinate standard" of the church is the Westminster Confession of Faith. The FP Church of Scotland has done some serious missionary work, and is represented in around a dozen nations, found in Europe, North America, Australasia, Africa and Asia, it has a relatively large sister church in Zimbabwe.
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